The job change is a bizarre and calamity; the nation begs me to tone it down.

Duran glanced at him, his expression calm: "Mr. Hector, I didn't say we should ask them for help. I said we should release the information. There's a fundamental difference between the two!"

"Once news of the reappearance of the old powers spreads, what will the Court of Fools do? They'll rush to the Starfall Rift like madmen!"

"And what about the Eternal Day Tribunal and the Order of Annihilation? They detect the fluctuations of the Old Gods and they also react."

"By then, the area outside Starfall Rift will no longer be just our Ashmerkland fleet. All we need to do is spread the news through the Starsea Black Market, without spending a single penny. As long as those who need to know know, what's meant to come will come."

"At that time, it won't just be us bearing the pressure; the Holy Tribunal will need purification, the Order of the Dead will need deliverance, and the Court of Fools will need pilgrimage!"

"We just need to defend our own territory and wait for them to divert the attention of the Old Gods' legion. This is much more worthwhile than our six families betting everything on a head-on confrontation with billions of insect hordes."

After saying the last word, Duran placed his hands back on the table and said no more.

None of the senior governing elders at the round table immediately expressed their opinions.

But everyone present knew that Durant's logic was not complicated.

That means stirring up the water and spreading the pressure outwards.

To put it bluntly, there's no need to use the lives of six families to fill that bottomless pit.

It even provides a feasible solution to the current crisis, and that's enough.

The silence lasted for about ten seconds.

Finally, Oleg Taranis slammed his staff on the ground and glanced at everyone present: "I have no objection."

He paused, then added, "But there's one condition."

All eyes turned to them.

"After the news is released, we can't let our guard down. If those forces don't come, or come too slowly, we can't put all our lives on someone else's shoulders."

That was a very honest statement, and the others naturally nodded in agreement.

Rigley observed all of this and, without further preamble, said, "Since everyone agrees, then... Mr. Duran's proposal will be included as a supplementary clause to this motion."

"At this point in the meeting, the matter is quite clear."

"Then, I propose a vote now. Ashmerkrin, the third motion for survival: Do you agree to engage in direct combat with the Old Gods' legions? Those who agree, raise your hands."

As soon as he finished speaking, Rigli raised his right hand.

Next was Elena. She raised her arm decisively, without the slightest hesitation.

Cassius raised his hand third, his movement swift and decisive, as if he had already made his decision.

Durant followed closely behind.

Oleg rested his short cane on the chair leg, freeing his right hand, and slowly raised it above his head.

Finally, all eyes fell on Hector.

The ruling elder of the Seger family remained silent for two seconds.

But in the end, that hand still rose.

Six votes. Passed unanimously.

Rigley withdrew his gaze and pressed the black crystal back into the groove on the table.

The moment the crystal was embedded, the six radiating grooves on the surface of the round table simultaneously lit up with a very faint golden light, spreading outward from the center and finally lingering for a moment on each of the six emblems.

"The vote is passed!"

"Effective immediately, the entire Ashmerkland region is placed on high alert. The six ruling families and all their affiliated forces have joined forces to form a defensive line to confront the Old Gods' legions head-on."

"At the same time, in accordance with parliamentary procedures, a formal request for assistance was submitted to the Global Star Parliament."

After he finished speaking, the atmosphere around the round table became subdued.

It wasn't the dullness of indecisiveness, but the weight of a decision once made.

Everyone's expression was tense, as if an invisible weight was pressing on their shoulders.

However, Riglie didn't give everyone much time to process this.

He took the black crystal out of the groove, held it in his palm, and turned his gaze back to the round table.

"Now that we've covered the voting, let's talk about implementation."

His gaze fell on Cassius: "One of Mr. Duran's supplementary clauses is to spread news of the reappearance of ancient powers through the Starsea Black Market, drawing the Court of Fools and other forces to the scene. Who will take the lead in this?"

Cassius didn't hesitate for long. He sat up straight and said, "This matter will be handled by our Wayne Hall family. We have relatively mature connections with the Starsea Black Market, covering four major trading hubs."

"Furthermore, the message distribution does not require signatures or leave a trace; it only needs to reach the right people. We've done this more than once."

Rigley nodded, not pressing for details: "Okay, Wayne Hall will handle the black market."

"But relying solely on information from the black market is not enough."

At this point, he turned his gaze towards Elena and Duran: "The Eternal Day Tribunal is the legitimate ruler of the divine realm, with its own parliament and diplomatic system. They won't take the rumors circulating on the black market seriously. To get them to act, we must go through formal channels, submit documents, and have the ruling council stamped. I can handle that!"

"But what about the Nirvana Monastic Community..."

"Those ascetics don't buy into diplomacy. You send them documents, they won't even look at them. You send envoys, they won't even open the door."

"So...we have to use another method."

After saying this, Rigley's gaze fell on Elena, without naming her, but the meaning was clear.

Elena didn't keep him waiting long. Leaning slightly forward, she said, "To the east of the Karsa family's residence, there is an ancient temple dedicated to the Way of Nirvana. It is very old! In the courtyard of the temple, there is a stele with the verses of the first patriarch of the Nirvana Monks inscribed on it."

"Almost every few standard days, a monastic community would pass by and sit in meditation before the monument!"

"I will inscribe the coordinates of the Old Gods' army's gathering on that monument. There's no need to send anyone to notify them or write any documents. The wandering monks will see it when they pass by."

After Elaine finished speaking, the people around the round table nodded in agreement.

After all, the meeting has been going smoothly so far, and the plan has been finalized.

The black market spread the word that official documents would be sent to the Universal Council and the Holy Tribunal, and the inscriptions on the ancient temple's stele would be used by the Nirvana Monastic Community.

Three lines running in parallel, each one representing a guarantee and a hope.

However, no one knows how much support they can attract.

But at least, it's better than waiting around.

Rigley glanced at everyone's expressions, and seeing that no one wanted to express their opinion or add anything, he spoke again: "Alright, in that case, let's leave these matters here for now."

"Next, we'll start discussing serious matters."

"That is... the scale of each family's troop deployment, how the defense lines are built, in which direction the troops are deployed, who leads the vanguard, and who guards the rear."

"These things must be decided today."